The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Wyatt initially thought James was a straight-up gentleman, but now... well, turns out he was way off the mark.

James, picking up on the side-eye from his crew, stood up and asked Mirabella, "Why not catch some more Z's? You've got the day off from school."

Mirabella shrugged, "Got anything to munch on? I'm starving."

"Yep." James nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

Seeing him go, Mirabella followed along.

Left behind, Wyatt and Curtis exchanged knowing looks.

"This is moving faster than I thought," Wyatt mumbled.

Curtis kept quiet, his eyes trailing towards the kitchen. As a single guy, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy, but he was genuinely happy for James.

Meanwhile, Mirabella took a bite of her croissant and glanced over at Curtis and Wyatt. She turned to James, "Don't worry about me; go do your thing."

James handed her a glass of milk, casually asking, "Not busy. Got any plans today?"

After sipping her milk, Mirabella replied, "Might head home later."

She had a pile of assignments from Dr. Elliot waiting. If she didn't turn them in soon, she might have to pop into the Biology Department next week.

James nodded, pondering for a bit, then suggested, "If you're free, want to hit up an auction? Could be fun."

Mirabella perked up at the mention of an auction, "An auction?"

"Yeah, there's an underground auction today. Lots of rare and cool stuff." James mentioned, recalling a rare medicine on the list, "There's also some unique medicine you might like."

"Oh..." Mirabella, not too keen on the medicine, was intrigued by the treasures.

She figured Dr. Elliot's assignments could wait a bit, then said, "Never been to an auction before; could be fun to check it out."

James couldn't help but smirk at her 'never been to an auction' line-it sounded like a humble brag.

"Cool, it starts at 1 PM. We've got time," he replied.

"Sure." Mirabella nodded, focused on her breakfast.

James watched her for a moment before heading back to the living room.

Just as Wyatt and Curtis were recovering from the 'couple vibes,' they saw James return and got back to business.

They kept their voices low, so unless Mirabella was eavesdropping, she wouldn't catch their conversation.

"The bait's been set; now we wait and see if he takes it," Curtis said, a serious look in his eyes.

James tapped his knee, "We'll see."

"The auction's security is locked down tight. If he shows, he's not getting away," Wyatt said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah."

Curtis suddenly remembered something and glanced at Mirabella, suggesting quietly, “James, think we should bring Mirabella along? Her computer skills could be handy."noveldrama

Having someone like her on the team could be a game-changer. James shot Curtis a look, clearly unimpressed, "She's coming."

"That's awesome," Curtis coughed, used to the slight digs.

With Mirabella, the computer whiz, on board, their chances of catching the thief if he dared to show up were much better.